Tag: thomas was alone

Don’t Try To Dig What We All Say: Trey’s Games Of The Generation Pt. 2

Check out Part 1 of the list here.

Metro 2033 (Xbox 360)

While working for GameStop, one upshot was that we sometimes came across titles that might have gone unnoticed. A few examples include Demon’s Souls, The Saboteur, and Metro 2033. Erich gets full credit for checking it out initially, but he quickly brought me into the fold. Metro takes the Eastern post-apoc sensibilities of games like STALKER and streamlines the experience into something more akin to Resistance. The atmosphere is unbelievable, and the story managed a unique twist: There’s a “moral choice” system, but the game literally never offers an explanation on what choices affect the outcome, or even lets on that there are alternate endings.

Mirror’s Edge (Xbox 360)

I’m not going to defend this game against its detractors anymore; it had flaws, and certain gameplay mechanics that made is completely impossible for some gamers to enjoy. For my money, though, few games have ever brought the same rush that comes with getting all the moves on a big run exactly right or reacting on pure instinct during the chase sequences. I’m very excited for the sequel, though my fingers are crossed that the developers will keep firearms far, far away from Faith.

Portal 2 (Xbox 360)

“Oh hi, how are you holding up? …because I’m a potato.”

“*Clap, clap, clap*… oh good, my slow-clap processor made it into this thing. At least we have that.”

“Ha! I like your style; you make up your own rules just like me. Bean-counter said I couldn’t fire a man just for being in a wheelchair – did it anyway. Ramps are expensive!”

“Those of you who volunteered to be injected with praying mantis DNA, I’ve got some good news and some bad news: bad news is we’re postponing those tests indefinitely. Good news is we’ve got a much better test for you: fighting an army of mantis men. Pick up a rifle and follow the yellow line. You’ll know when the test starts.”

Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)

If Grand Theft Auto is Rockstar’s bread-and-butter, then Red Dead is the five-course meal they were preparing that bread as an appetizer for: It is graphically beautiful, exceptionally well-written, with nearly flawless gameplay, and set in an unbelievably detailed world nearly overflowing with features. On top of all that, there’s a free-roam multiplayer mode that to this day is more entertaining than GTA Online. Plus, Red Dead actually had co-op missions at launch!

Rock Band (Xbox 360)

When my friend Adam got his 360 two months ago, one of the first things I did was bust out my Rock Band instruments and haul them over to his place, immediately installed all of the songs from Rock Band onto the drive to play in Rock Band 2, and finally bought a half-dozen of our favorite songs from the marketplace. That game is seven years old at this point, Adam actually plays bass, we’re both South Park fans (you know which episode, don’t even pretend), and yet to this day kicking on the star-power hitting a perfect solo in “Everlong” still feels bad-ass.

Shadow Complex (Xbox 360)

Beth gets all the credit for this one; she downloaded it while I was at work one day, and had it mostly beaten by the time I got back. It’s a Metroid-style 2D explorer, so there were still countless items and upgrades to collect, and secrets to find, and multiple playthroughs to be had. Owing to some fantastic mechanics and genuine graphical prowess, Shadow Complex helped establish that the Xbox Live Arcade was something to be taken seriously.

‘Splosion Man (Xbox 360)

Apparently, my going to work enticed Beth to find all sorts of awesome things on the Live Arcade that summer, as ‘Splosion Man followed right after Shadow Complex. The single-player was challenging and fresh, but it was the seizure-inducing mayhem of co-op that really made this a stand-out title. It’s rare that a game where you and your friends fail so frequently – and often because of each other – only gets more fun as the body count stacks up. Plus, everybody loves doughnuts!

Thomas Was Alone (PC)

I doubt anyone is surprised to see my 2013 Game of the Year on this list, considering how much I raved about the title in two separate articles already. The fact remains that in a generation where annual releases became the norm, “resolution” and “frame-rate” were discussed ad nauseam, and publishers slapped “HD remake” on everything within arm’s reach, Thomas and his friends captured my heart with impeccable gameplay, an incredible soundtrack, and the best narration this side of Bastion.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PlayStation 3)

Uncharted 2 is the single best game I have ever played on my PlayStation 3, and that includes Metal Gear Solid 4. It is inarguably the single best action-adventure title I have ever encountered, and is one of my top ten games ever, period. From the breathtaking opening – dangling off a cliff, clinging to a crashed train car – to the touching ending as Nate comes to grips with his love for Elena and his fear of clowns, Among Thieves delivers the greatest Naughty Dog title to date. Yeah, it’s way better than The Last of Us. Deal with it.

The Walking Dead: Season One (Xbox 360)

My review should tell you all you need to know if you still haven’t experienced Telltale’s masterwork adventure game for yourself; luckily for everyone, it’s also now available on next-Gen consoles! Similar to Thomas Was Alone, The Walking Dead made player-driven storytelling a priority over everything else, and delivered that story through genuinely emotional voice work and a visually arresting art style. Never has there been a character I’d rather look in the eye and shake hands with than Lee, or one I’d rather give a hug to than Clementine.

Wii Sports (Wii)

Who knew that a single disc, packaged in a simple cardboard sleeve, could lead to the sale of more than One Hundred Million Wii consoles worldwide over the last decade? I realized that Nintendo has the best first-party lineup of any existing console manufacturer, but the fact of the matter remains that Zelda isn’t the reason my grandmother briefly knew how to use a Wii remote. From weekly living-room bowling leagues to some of the most intense doubles tennis matches ever experienced, Wii Sports inserted itself into the social consciousness in a way most AAA titles can only dream of.

Damn, the past eight years have been pretty fantastic for games, and I genuinely hope things only get better from here. If you’re interested in what this new generation has to offer, I highly suggest checking out each contributor’s Game of the Year 2014 picks here on the site. Of course, you could also use this as a checklist and see if there’s anything big you’ve missed; most of these titles should be available for bargain prices. You could also just play Thomas Was Alone.

January 21, 2015
Trey’s Game of the Year 2013

Before I reveal my choice for Game of the Year 2013, I’d like to take a moment and discuss the concept of “GOTY” selections. Awards and accolades seem almost inherent to the human experience; no matter the context, we have this ingrained desire to elevate one thing over others like it. We hold award events for everything from costumes to dogs to homemade flying machines and beyond.

In the entertainment world, this has taken the form of industry-wide events; from the Oscars to the Grammys to the MTV Video Music Awards, we take entertainment and try to qualify it. Some of these events are given more credibility than others, like an Oscar being “worth more” than a Golden Globe, and everyone seems to have their favorite program. Hell, the Razzies are an “award” event for the things people think sucked!

In the gaming industry, the Spike Video Game Awards has probably become the most public event, but their winners tend to be taken with a grain of salt by the large majority of gamers, developers, and even publishers. In gaming, there’s almost a Pokémon approach to GOTY awards; since almost every major publication makes a selection, the objective “winner” seems to be the one who catches ‘em all, so to speak.

Personally, I pay a lot of attention to the Game Developers Choice Awards, because I’m interested in what the people who make games consider to be the “best” every year. The selections from GDCA tend to highlight innovation and excellence in design more than profitability, though to describe some of the picks as “pretentious” wouldn’t be too far off base.

Personally, I think that GOTY awards have lost a lot of potency, though it’s possible they hold weight with investors that I’m overlooking, much like winning an Oscar can help boost an actor or director in terms of studio interest. The biggest direct result of the awards in recent years has been the advent of “Game of the Year” editions that include extra content, although plenty of titles have come around to this idea without needing a GOTY moniker. Of course, companies can go a little overboard when touting these accolades on a new edition…

2013 was an interesting year for my gaming habit; whereas recent previous years were overflowing with titles, this year seemed light on releases. The holiday console launch saw the usual field thinned a bit, as developers and publishers pushed titles back into the next few years. This was also the Year of the PC for me, and the creation of the Stargate SG-X saw a lot of my gaming time go into PC games from recent years that I wanted to experience.

To be 100% honest, picking anything other than[amazon_link id=”B00GXHISJE” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Fallout 3[/amazon_link] as my “Game of the Year” for 2013 is a lie, since no other game pulled me in like returning to the Capitol Wasteland with mods and non-existent loading times. Picking a game from 2008 was deemed “questionable,” though, despite the fact that Matt Lees over at Video Gamer has picked Dark Souls as his GOTY three years running.

All joking aside, 2013 had standout titles, and even a few unbelievably excellent pieces of gaming scattered about. For my part, I tried to pick experiences that made me think “I’m glad I play games. It’s a shame other people miss out on this stuff.” To that end, I think I’ve been rather successful.

Trey’s GOTY 2013: Thomas Was Alone

First and foremost, all credit goes to Beth for convincing me to play this game. We picked it up during the Steam sale this past summer, and it might have gotten lost amongst all of the other indie gems if she hadn’t played it first and insisted – on a daily basis – that I get around to playing it.

I’ve made a bad habit this year of falling into the “PC Master Race” mindset. As time goes by, however, I realize that the true power of a PC isn’t rendering individual hairs inside an enemy’s nose, but the accessibility to perfect little nuggets of gaming that can be played on even basic machines.

Rather than rehash my review, I’d like to focus on the exact reason this game tops the list: Surprise factor. Everyone I have talked to about this game has been astounded at how profoundly involving it is, at how effectively the elements come together and draw you in.

Please, please play this game. Don’t even tell me if you do; it’s not necessarily a water-cooler game. Do it because you’ll be a more content, slightly more complete person afterward.

First Runner-Up: The Swapper

I talked about The Swapper in my Halloween editorial, and my one-word reason for it is: Atmosphere. It’s amazing how threatened I constantly felt in a game where the only characters are you, your clones, and sentient rocks. There were moments when I legitimately did not want to proceed, gripped by dread of the sheer emptiness around me.

The game is also a visual marvel, as every asset is actually a real-world set, model, or miniature blended together with stop-motion and a rendering algorithm. The result is a world that in extraordinarily detailed, even down to the minutiae, without needing a $1500 rig to run it.

Photo courtesy digitaltrends.com

Second Runner-Up: [amazon_link id=”B003O6EB70″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]BioShock Infinite[/amazon_link]

There it is! I’m sure anyone who even perused my gratuitously loving review of Infinite is wondering why it’s not at the top of this list. I have an answer for you: It isn’t a surprise that Infinite is unbelievably good. Its pedigree demanded nothing else. The first BioShock changed the expectations for the most recent gaming generation, and became synonymous with what Triple-A gaming is capable of.

That being said, this game is just about flawless; it blends addictive, rewarding, challenging gameplay with storytelling that is genuinely affecting across the emotional scale. It is a masterpiece, a labor of love from Ken Levine and his team. I acquired it on PC during a recent Amazon sale, booted it up just to see how it runs, and ended up three hours into the game.

Honorable Mention: [amazon_link id=”B0050SWUTQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Dead Space 3[/amazon_link]

Few games this year drew as much ire as Dead Space 3; between microtransactions, the increased action elements, and the inclusion of co-op, it was the focus of many poor reviews. For some, it stood for everything “wrong” with EA in recent years. I personally loved it, both in single player and in co-op, and feel it was wrongfully maligned. Also, Necromorphs are terrifying, period.

Honorable Mention: [amazon_link id=”B00E4QOEFS” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Saints Row IV[/amazon_link]

Fun. Raw, unmitigated, completely explicit and immature fun. You can read Erich’s thoughts on how much fun, or you could just go play it. Preferably in co-op, which is the best reason I’ve found in years as to why friends are a good thing. Go ahead, though, don’t play it. I won’t care, because I’ll be riding a velociraptor while listening to “Walk the Dinosaur.”

January 22, 2014
A Game for Squares: Thomas Was Alone Review

I’m not going to talk about this game excessively, because it is a game of no excess itself. Originally released as a Flash game in 2010, it was created solely by Mike Bithell; the only collaborative part of the game is the phenomenal soundtrack, which Bithell co-created with David Housden. Since then, it has seen releases on PC, Mac, Linux, PS3 and PS Vita. It is a puzzle-platformer where the player takes control of several AIs, who represent themselves as various quadrilaterals in a 2D environment. Each AI has a unique shape or ability that the player must use in conjunction with the others to progress through each level. The story is told through text, with accompanying narration by Danny Wallace.

And that’s about as far as I want to go into things, other than to tell you that you should go pick it up and play it, right now; or at least the next time you have three-and-a-half hours of free time. Journey, The Unfinished Swan, Quantum Conundrum, and Antichamber are the closest things I can think to compare it to, because these are all games that hinge on how much you are willing to give to them and receive in return. I’m sure there are people who would never be able to see these characters as more than colored rectangles; I personally came to feel very close to Thomas, Chris, Laura, Claire, John, James, and Sarah.

I mentioned the music and narration because the game simply would not be what it is without the involvement of either party. The score is a “procedurally-generated assembly of multiple instrument tracks over a fixed song line” according to Wikipedia. That’s the technical term for something I had noticed during play, which is that each track starts out small and then slowly builds over the course of not just each level, but each world as well. I often found myself pausing to just listen to it in the background; I also found myself coming to a dead stop any time Danny Wallace was speaking, for fear that I might miss some little nuisance in his delivery of the script.

I loved every second of Thomas Was Alone, and if I had one recommendation, it would be to make an effort not to rush through the experience. Try and detach yourself from thoughts of “beating” the game and just enjoy Claire’s super-power, or James’ unique disregard for Newtonian laws. Because this is the kind of game that you only really “experience” the first time through. It wasn’t until the credits were rolling that I realized that it was not Thomas who was alone now, but me.

August 11, 2013